Coinciding with the global observance of World No Tobacco Day, Punjab has scripted an achievement in public health by recording the lowest prevalence of tobacco use across the entire country, according to the newly released National Family Health Survey 2023-24 (NFHS-6) conducted by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.
Health and Family Welfare Minister Punjab Dr Balbir Singh said this comprehensive nationwide survey established Punjab decisively on top among all Indian states, offering a stellar blueprint for this year’s global anti-tobacco campaign. This showcased a historic low where tobacco use among men, aged 15 years and above, stands at just 13.9 per cent, which is less than half of the national average of 36.3 per cent, he said.
The distinction is even more pronounced among the female population, with tobacco use among women, aged 15 and above in Punjab, recorded at a mere 0.5 per cent, drastically outperforming the national female average of 8.4 per cent.
He said there was a strict zero-tolerance approach toward tobacco violations, a resolve reflected in the penalisation of violators through the aggressive issuance of 22,054 challans under the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA), 2003, during the fiscal year 2025-26 alone.
Dr Balbir Singh said more than 800 villages across Punjab had officially declared themselves completely “tobacco-free” and acted as vigilant stakeholders in safeguarding their environments.
The minister said the state had declared 98.6 per cent of schools across Punjab as “tobacco-free” in strict accordance with the national guidelines.
